How Many More Massacres Must Occur Before We Get Gun Control

On February 14, 2018, when most of us were focused on LOVE, a 19-year-old, armed with an assault rifle, went into a school and murdered 17 people. In the year prior to this horrific act, the 19-year-old purchased at least nine other guns for his “gun collection”.

In the days and weeks following this devastating act, the survivors that were directly affected spoke out loud and clear and demanded that our country do something about gun control.

To date, nothing has been done. Our government has made it clear, once again, that people directly affected and devastated by these senseless acts truly have no say. Sure, we saw a lot of media coverage of elected officials, including our President, meeting with survivors who all but begged for gun control. But, the reality is that almost one month has passed, and not one thing has been done to ensure a safer environment for the citizens of the United States of America. Listening is not enough!

As a result of the government’s unwillingness to intervene, we are seeing citizens taking matters into their own hands.

Many believe that the best way to combat this situation is to make sure more “good citizens” are armed so that they are not rendered helpless if they are in a movie theater, mall, school, church, etc., when a deranged person decides to commit such heinous acts. The thought of more people being armed and ready for combat honestly horrifies me! How can the “good citizens” guarantee my safety, or anyone else’s, from one of their bullets if they engage in a gun fight? The answer is, they can’t. It seems like basic logic to me. The more guns involved in a gun fight, the more likely there will be greater casualties.

It has been suggested in some circles that allowing more people to be armed in public would act as a deterrent to a potential mass murderer. Really? Are we that clueless as a society that we honestly believe that a mentally ill person will think about the possibility of their own mortality as they plan such acts?

Rather than push to impose gun control laws, the President of the United States of America and the National Rifle Association have suggested, among other things, that we arm our teachers. At some point after making this statement, the President clarified that he believed that only teachers with specialized training should be armed. This means, quite logically, that the President does not believe everyone should be able to handle guns. So, if you believe that only teachers with specialized training should have weapons in a school, why do you not agree that our country needs gun control?

The fact that we continue to ignore the numerous examples of countries that have successfully imposed gun control laws speaks volumes about the power of money in our country. To put it bluntly, the rich are benefiting from the fear that the masses are experiencing.

As we run out and buy more guns, the stock continues to rise, and the rich get richer. It is that wealth that allows them to control our representatives who know, on a basic human level, that something must be done about gun violence in the good ole U.S. of A. But, because of their overriding fear of losing solid financial support from organizations such as the National Rifle Association, the only thing our elected officials offer us is an opportunity to vent, while we all sit back and wait for the next senseless massacre to occur.

Much Love,

Tonza